Floor cleaning system

ABSTRACT

A floor cleaning system including a mop with a mop head having a plurality of mopping strands with multiple wringing beads, an elongated adjustable handle with a hand grip and a mop stand assembly, and a bucket with a wringing cone, rollers and a heating element. Also included are bucket rollers, safety feet, heating element shield, drain plug, chemical solution dispenser, bucket hose connection and hose storage reel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a system for cleaning, disinfecting andcoating floors and similar surfaces using a mop and related accessoriesincluding a bucket with a heating element, a mop wringer, and adispenser for fluids such as detergent, wax stripper, disinfectant andwaxes.

The use of a mop to clean floors is an age-old method still practicedextensively because it is effective. A typical mop has an elongatedhandle with a mop head attached to one end. The mop head is formed ofstrands of moisture adsorbent material, which can be natural orman-made. A mop is generally used with a bucket of water to both wet andrinse the mop head after use. The normal method of using a mop is to wetthe mop head in the bucket of water, wring out the mop head by hand andthen push the mop head over the floor surface to remove dirt or pick upexcess moisture. Once the mop head has been pushed over a certain areaof floor, the mop head is placed in the bucket of water to rinse out thedirt and soil removed from the floor. The mop head is then wrung out toremove excess moisture and the process is repeated until the water inthe bucket becomes too dirty and must be changed. However, there arecertain disadvantages inherent in a simple mop and bucket. Among theseare difficulties in wringing and cleaning the mop by hand to removeliquid and dirt so that the mop is as clean as possible when used on thefloor. Another problem is what to do with the mop while the water in thebucket is being changed. It is not advisable to simply lay the mop onthe floor. Dumping a large bucket of water can also be a problem simplybecause of the weight.

While the mop and bucket system as described above only discusses theuse of water in the bucket, it is well known that warm or hot water willclean better than simple cold water. However, even if hot water isavailable, a typical bucket will not maintain the water temperature, andwhat starts as hot water will quickly become cold, thereby diminishingthe cleaning effectiveness. Likewise, it is common to add chemicalsolutions to assist in cleaning or whatever the desired effect might be.For example, wax stripper might be needed to clean wax build up, or adisinfectant might be needed in a health care facility. Such chemicalsolutions would usually be provided in individual containers andmanually mixed in the bucket. A problem exists in handling thesecontainers and storing them while mopping.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a completefloor cleaning system and apparatus comprising a mop and bucket andfurther comprising a mop stand, a mop head with multiple strands withwringing beads, a wringing cone with bead slots, a bucket heatingelement; a chemical dispenser, a bucket drain and a hose connection forfilling the bucket.

The mop of the present invention will have an adjustable telescopingelongated handle fitted with a folding leg stand comprising multiplelegs, which, when folded out, will support the mop in a verticalposition with the multiple strands of the mop head above the floor. Themultiple strands of the mop head with wringing beads, will allow the mopto be wrung in a wringer cone with bead slots without the need for handwringing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the inventive floor cleaning system.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the mop in a vertical position on mop standlegs.

FIG. 3 is a cross section of the bucket.

FIG. 4 is a cross section of the wringing cone with the multiple strandsof the mop placed in the wringing cone.

FIG. 5 is a top view of the wringing cone.

FIG. 6 is a cross section of the telescoping adjustment mechanism in theelongated mop handle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the inventive floor cleaning systemshowing a mop 1 and a bucket 9. The mop 1 of the present inventionincludes an elongated handle 2 having a first end 2 c and a second end 2d, and is defined by a longitudinal axis 26. The elongated handle 2 canbe manufactured using tubular or solid plastic, metal, composite, orwood materials. The elongated handle 2 of the preferred embodiment isadditionally provided with an upper segment 2 a and a lower segment 2 bhaving a diameter slightly greater than that of upper segment 2 a, inwhich the lower segment 2 b is allowed to move longitudinally over theupper segment 2 a. The preferred embodiment includes a telescopingadjustment mechanism 27 to selectively engage both the upper and lowersections 2 a and 2 b to selectively secure the desirable length. Alsoshown is a handgrip 32 in place on the upper section 2 a engaged overthe first end 2 c. It is preferable that the handgrip 32 has fingerindentations to assist in using the telescoping adjustment mechanism 27.

The telescoping adjustment mechanism is shown in cross section in FIG.6. The lower segment 2 b is provided with a plurality of aligned holes28 and a spring-biased push button mechanism 29 is disposed in the uppersegment 2 a. The spring-biased push button mechanism 29 includes abutton 30, biased by a spring 31. Depressing the button 30 disengagesthe adjustment mechanism 27, thereby allowing the upper segment 2 a tomove longitudinally within the lower segment 2 b in a telescopingmotion. The button 30 will remain depressed by the wall of the lowersegment 2 b until the expansive force of the compressed spring 31 forcesthe button 30 to protrude through the next of the sequentially alignedholes 28. This alignment with a new hole 28 returns the adjustmentmechanism 27 to the engaged position thereby establishing a new lengthfor the elongated handle 2. This process can be repeated until theelongated handle 2 is secured in the desired length.

The mop 1 further includes a mop head 3 fixed to the second end 2 d. Themop head 3 includes a plurality of flexible moisture absorbent strands 4with a multitude of wringing beads 5 fixed to the strands 4 at adistance apart to facilitate in the wringing operation as describedbelow. The strands 4 can be formed of any durable moisture absorbentmaterial, natural or synthetic. The wringing beads can be of any durablemoisture resistant material such as plastic and formed in a sphericalshape.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the mop 1 is additionally provided with a mopstand assembly 6 having a plurality of mop stand legs 7 and an annularmop stand swivel ring 8 fixed at a distance longitudinally apart fromthe second end 2 d of the elongated handle 2. In this embodiment, themop stand legs 7 are pivotally fixed to the mop stand swivel ring 8 soas to allow the mop stand legs 7 to rotate pivotally from an upright orstored position down to a standing tripod position. As seen in FIG. 2,the mop stand legs 7 are of such a length that, when folded out in thestanding position, the mop will be supported in a vertical position withthe mopping strands 4 above a floor surface 20. Each of the mop standlegs 7 has a leg lock 7 a fixed at an intermediate distance along thelength of the mop stand leg 7 and a mop stand leg brace 7 c. As FIG. 2shows, the mop stand leg brace 7 c is pivotally fixed to the mop standleg 7 on one end and has a leg hook 7 b on the opposite end.

When in the standing position as seen in FIG. 2, the mop stand assembly6 has three mop stand legs 7 forming a tripod structure. The mop standlegs 7 are locked in the standing position using a hook and lock lockingmechanism in which the leg hook 7 b on each mop stand leg brace 7 cinterlocks with the leg lock 7 a fixed to an adjacent mop stand leg 7.FIG. 1 shows the mop stand legs 7 in the upright or stored position inwhich the mop stand legs 7 are locked in position using a hook and lockmechanism in which the leg hooks 7 b fixed to an interlock 7 d on thelower segment 2 b with the leg locks 7 a fixed to each of the mop standlegs 7.

FIG. 3 shows a cross section of the bucket 9 having a bucket wall 9 a, abucket wall interior surface 9 b, a bucket wall exterior surface 9 c, abucket interior floor surface 9 d, a bottom end 9 e, a top end 9 f, abottom 9 g, a perimeter 9 h, and a rim 19. The bucket 9 is provided witha wringer cone 11 rigidly fixed to the bucket wall interior surface 9 bnear the top end 9 f. The bucket 9 and wringer cone 11 are preferablyconstructed of plastic or polymer sheet material and it would beadvantageous to produce them as one piece using injection-moldingtechnology.

The wringer cone 11 is a downward facing or inverted circumferentialcone having a wringer cone wall 11 a with a plurality of wringing slots12, a plurality of wringing bead apertures 21, and a wringer cone bottomhole 11 b. The wringer cone 11 includes wringing slots 12, spaced at adistance apart and spiraling downward from the wringing bead apertures21 toward the wringer cone bottom hole 11 b as seen in FIG. 5. Thewringing bead apertures 21 and wringing slots 12 work in conjunctionwith the wringing beads 5 to facilitate the innovative wringingoperation of the present invention. The wringing bead apertures 21 areof a generally circular shape with a diameter greater than the diameterof the wringing beads 5, whereas the wringing slots 12 are of a widthless than the diameter of the wringing beads 5, but wide enough to allowthe strands 4 to pass through the slots 12.

The innovative wringing operation of the present invention isdistinguishable from the prior art in the field of hands-free mopwringing. Almost all hands-free bucket-mounted mop wringing devicesrequire some type of vertical force or compression to remove unwantedliquid, and most also require a twisting or rotational force; thepresent wringing operation, however, requires only a rotational force.

As depicted in FIG. 4, which shows a cross section of the wringer cone11, the mop 1 is guided into the wringer cone 11, with the mop strands 4hanging vertically down, to introduce the wringing beads 5 into thewringing slots 12. The wringing slots 12 function as pass throughsurfaces to guide the wringing beads 5 upward to the wringing beadapertures 21 as the mop 1 is rotated around its longitudinal axis 26.The wringing bead apertures 21 receive the wringing beads 5 and lock thewringing beads 5, and corresponding mop strands 4, in a fixed position.The continued rotational force or twisting, while the wringing beads 5and mop strands 4 are in a fixed position, creates a centering effectwhich resultantly squeezes or wrings the liquid out of the mop strands4. Once the desired amount of liquid has been removed from the mopstrands 4, a rotational force in the opposite direction releases thewringing beads 5 from the wringing bead apertures 21 and the mop 1 maybe removed from the wringer cone 11.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the bucket 9 is provided with a multitude ofrollers 10 fixed to the bucket bottom 9 g, equidistant around the bucketperimeter 9 h. The preferred embodiment of the present invention alsoincludes a multitude of bucket safety feet 24 fixed to the bucket bottomend 9 e generally adjacent to said rollers 10, projecting out and downtoward the floor surface 20.

As further shown in FIG. 3, the bucket is also provided with a heatingelement 13 attached to the bucket wall 9 a, preferably toward the bucketbottom end 9 e such that the heating element 13 is generally coplanar tothe bucket floor surface 9 d. The heating element 13 is intended tomaintain the water in the bucket 9 at an elevated temperature moreconducive to efficient cleaning. The heating element 13 is protectedfrom potential damage by a heating element filter shield 15, which ismounted to the bucket wall 9 a and the bucket bottom 9 g. The heatingelement filter shield 15 will normally be constructed of a thinstructural sheet material, with perforations so as to protect theheating element 13 from larger, heavy objects without restricting theflow of liquid around the heating element 13. An electrical cord withplug 14 from the heating element 13 passes through the bucket wall 9 aand is stored in a retractable electrical cord retriever 14 a, which ismounted to the bucket wall exterior surface 9 c.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention also includes a buckethose connection 16, fixed to the bucket wall 9 a, for connecting a waterhose 25 to a water source. The water hose 25 shall be a general flexiblehose of appropriate length and storage is provided by a hose storagereel 23 attached to the bucket wall 9 a. A drain plug 17 is also fixedto the bucket wall 9 a toward the bucket bottom end 9 e and a drain plugretainer 22 is fixed to the bucket wall 9 a interior to the drain plug17. Both the water hose 25 and the drain plug 17 allow the user torespectively fill and drain the bucket 9 without lifting.

The bucket 9 is further provided with a chemical solution dispenser 18having multiple sealed compartments for storing chemical and cleaningsolutions. The solution dispenser 18 as disclosed in the preferredembodiment is provided with a manually operated, pushbutton liquiddispensing valve mechanism that eliminates the potentially dangerouscontact between the operator and the harsh chemical solutions. Thepreferred solution dispenser 18 has an attachment slot 18 a for mountingthe solution dispenser 18 on the bucket rim 19 as seen in FIG. 3.

While in the preceding specification, the present invention has beenillustrated and described with reference to specific exemplaryembodiments, it will be understood that the present invention is not tobe limited to the details thereof. It will however, be apparent to thoseskilled in the art that various substitutions, modifications, omissions,and changes can be made to the embodiment described above withoutdeparting from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as setforth in the following claims.

1. A floor cleaning system comprising a mop with a mop head having aplurality of mopping strands, an elongated adjustable handle with a handgrip and a mop stand assembly, and a bucket with rollers and a heatingelement.
 2. The floor cleaning system of claim 1 wherein multiplewringing beads are fixed to the mopping strands and a wringing cone isfixed to the bucket.
 3. The floor cleaning system of claim 1 wherein thebucket further comprises a drain plug, a hose connection and a chemicalsolution dispenser.
 4. The floor cleaning system of claim 2 wherein thebucket further comprises a drain plug, a hose connection and a chemicalsolution dispenser.
 5. The floor cleaning system of claim 3 wherein theelongated adjustable handle is fitted with a handgrip and the bucket isfitted with safety feet.
 6. The floor cleaning system of claim 4 whereinthe elongated adjustable handle is fitted with a handgrip and the bucketis fitted with safety feet.
 7. A floor cleaning system comprising a mopand bucket, said mop comprising; an elongated handle having a first andsecond end being defined by a longitudinal axis, said elongated handlehaving upper and lower handle segments and at least one hand grip fixedin line with said longitudinal axis, said upper and handle segmentshaving an annular recess allowing the upper and lower handle segments tomove along and about said longitudinal axis, said elongated handlefurther including a means for selectively adjusting the length of saidelongated handle at desirable distances along the longitudinal axis, amop head fixed to said second end, said mop head having a plurality ofmopping strands extending therefrom, the mopping strands having wringingbeads fixed at distances apart along said mopping strands, and a mopstand leg assembly comprising a mop stand swivel ring fixed to saidelongated handle at a distance apart from said second end and aplurality of mop stand legs pivotally attached to said mop stand swivelring, said mop stand legs being manually engageable to a afford pivotalmovement between an upright position when the mop stand leg assembly isin a stored position and a downward facing position when the mop standleg assembly is in a structural position, said mop stand legs being ofsuch length to afford said mopping strands to be suspended at a distanceabove a floor surface when said mop stand leg assembly is in saidstructural position, said mop stand leg assembly further include a meansfor securing said mop stand legs in said stored position and in saidstructural position, and said bucket having; a downward facing mopwringing cone fixed to said bucket, the wringing cone having a pluralityof wringing slots, a plurality of wringing bead apertures, and awringing cone bottom hole, with the wringing slots spiraling generallydownward from said wringing bead apertures toward said wringing conebottom hole, said bucket further comprising the following attachmentelements: rollers, safety feet, heating element, heating element filtershield, a bucket drain plug, a solution dispenser having an attachmentslot, a bucket hose connection, a hose and a hose storage reel.